The Snow Queen
by vandagold
Summary: She doesn't feel anything. Contentment, sadness, love... Her heart simply made them dissapear. It was the price she had to pay for her power. But things will change. Especially when a man from her past comes to haunt her. DxZ, obviously as also LxS. Enjoy.
1. Prologue-The cursed glass

_**I know I'm stupid. You don't need to say it. But what do you want me to do? It's not my fault that I fell in love with Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen".**_

_**Now, talking about my other stories:**_

_**Love is for Fools- I simply love it, it's one of my favorite fics I've ever wrote, but I need to step back a little and think about where the characters are going.**_

_**Secret's Safe with Me- I already wrote half of the last chapter; now I'm just waiting the inspiration to come so I can finish it.**_

_**Need You Now- That's a tough one. I'm just having a huge writer's block with it. :\**_

_**Tangled- I'll probably rewrite it. I just feel like Dante and Zhalia are totally ooc and as much as I love the movie, it's a Disney movie. And I don't want a "and they lived happily ever after" story. I need the plotline to be a bit darker to match my characters personality (if that even makes sense).**_

_**So, sorry if I made someone sad or even mad, but right now, I need to write this story. I hope you understand and now, I'll just stop annoying you.**_

_**Enjoy :)**_

* * *

_**Prologue- The cursed glass**_

Once upon a time, in a distant world far away from ours, a deadly war was taking place between the two ruler Kingdoms: The Ice Kingdom, with its cold, deserted lands of North, and the Fire Kingdom, with the sunny and warm lands of South.

Of course, this war didn't pop up from thin air; instead, it began years before any of our heroes were born.

In ancient times, elves were magical creatures that habited on Corinna, the human world. Some of them were good, some of them were bad. But the worst of them all, the most mischievous, the evilest one was named Gavrií̱l, and his name was feared all over the world. The smallest rumor that the creature was in a town was enough to make its villagers lock up in their house for days, weeks even.

One day though, the elf created a magic glass. It had the ability to show the darkest side of all living beings to the ones who looked through it. And, thinking that it'd be fun to see what the foolish humans would do with it, Gavrií̱l disguised himself as one of them and presented his invention to all the people around the world.

Some time passed, and the angels, seeing all the pain the relic had caused, imprisoned Gavrií̱l and took the glass with them, so they could give it to their God, the only one who could destroy it and restore peace.

Unfortunately, the higher the angels flew, the slippery the glass become and as obvious, it fell, breaking into tiny little pieces. And some of them were so little that they flew away at the soft breeze, until they found a place to occupy: A heart or an eye.

This is the story of one of those cursed pieces of the broken glass. The story of two lovers whose differences broke them apart. And also, the story of two orphans who only had one another in the world, and who were separated by a spell.

Now sit back and relax. It's story time, after all.


	2. Chapter 1-Game over

_**Chapter 1- Game Over**_

Lady Amarantha Rosecroft spent her entire life locked away due to her… _condition_.

You see, if there's a thing the noble families didn't like it was difference. So, when Amarantha was born with heterochromia, her family didn't see her with good eyes.

At first, she felt revolted. Why did she have to be different from the other people? And was it a crime to be born with a piercing blue eye and a grey stormy one? Didn't she deserve to be loved because of a mere ADN failure?

Well, according to the Rosecrofts, no.

Her family saw her like a monster; a shame to the family name. And even if little Amy was from their own blood, the appearances came in first place. And because of that, the young noble girl was sent to exile and raised by strict tutors.

It was only when she was allowed to return to the court that her luck changed, all thanks to Princess Zhalia.

Amy first met her highness in a masquerade ball at the royal palace. The Rosecrofts thought it was a good event to introduce their daughter to the Nobles and Royalty, since everybody would think that her abnormal gaze was part of the costume. Their plan was that she'd met a wealthy man, make him fall in love with her (or her beauty) and convince him to propose to her, all in one night, before anyone could discover her "curse".

It was simple at her parent's eyes. Just the art of seduction.

So this turned Amy's situation ten times worse when she accidentally set the entire ballroom on fire. Literally.

She remembered how all color left her face and her knees began shaking when the guards took her by the arms, in direction to the Princess's bedroom.

Screw what her family would think of that fiasco. She had more important things to take care off. Such as her testament, for example.

"Let me know if I got this straight: A mere noble girl destroyed our king's ballroom. Alone."

"Yes, your Highness." The two guards responded, in such a synchronized way that Amarantha wondered if they weren't twins.

The blue-haired woman got up from the dressing table and made a dismissive gesture to her guards. Seconds later, she and Amy were alone in the colossal bedroom, with Zhalia's smirk making shivers running down the girl's spine.

"You know, my dad's experiments need new subjects."

Amy gulped nervously. "That's quite… _unfortunate_, your Highness."

Zhalia's smirk only grew wider. And scarier. Amy thought that she'd rather an expressionless and cold Ice Princess instead of the one walking in circles around her, looking at the girl like a predator who looks at its prey.

"Fortunately for you", began Zhalia, making a stop so she could look at Amarantha right in the eye "My dad is out of town in… business. Which means that you're safe."

Amy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much, your Highness." She bowed her head and made a small and graceful reverence in gratitude.

"You're welcome. And in the end, your little accident wasn't that bad" When Amy raised a black ebony eyebrow, Zhalia explained "I always hated the décor. The colors were too strong. Too full of life. I like cold and lifeless things." She then shrugged, making her white silky dress rise a few inches from the floor "Anyway, it'd be better if you get going. I'm sure your family has a thing or two to say to you after tonight's events."

Zhalia snapped her fingers and before Amy could even blink, the two guards who had brought her there entered the room, taking Amarantha by the arms, again.

"Oh, and one more thing" The two men quickly turned around, which made Amy's brain dance a bit under her skull "I'm expecting you to show up tomorrow. I'd like to know how someone gets two different eyes."

Amy looked in disbelief at the woman some feet away from her, beside one of the crystal windows which let some sunshine enter. "How did you-?"

"If you show up tomorrow afternoon, I'll tell you." Zhalia's gaze fell on the two guards "You can take her now. And make sure that someone tells her family she talked with me today."

"Yes, your Highness."

Zhalia's lips curved in a small smile when she looked again at the noble girl. "Goodbye, Amy."

The dark-haired girl felt her heart stop for a second.

How did Zhalia know her name? Especially that one. Only her siblings called her that.

"_Whatever_", she thought, while the guards led her through the hallways of the Ice palace. "_She's just a scary woman I should avoid._"

How wrong she was.

* * *

Two years passed after this encounter, and many things changed in Amy's life. She was now the child prodigy of the Rosecroft family, and even if she was different, she was accepted by the noble society.

Why? Because she accomplished something anyone have ever did before: She became Zhalia's confident, or in other words, her friend.

When they first met, Amarantha didn't know, but it was rare, really rare, the times Zhalia would invite people over to chat and drink a cup of ice tea. And never in her life the Princess had made someone her friend.

All of this turned Amy's life upside down in a positive way. She had no longer to hide because of her eyes. She was free to go to balls and even to marry without being obliged to lie.

Of course, this also had its bad things. For instance, she was the one who announced both good and bad news to Zhalia. And that's what the noble girl was about to do in that moment.

"Amy, I was about to go see you." The woman stated, without taking her eyes off the map on top of Klaus' desk. "I really need-"

Amarantha cut off Zhalia's speech, before the knot on her throat wouldn't let her speak. "I need to tell you something important. It's about our King."

Zhalia raised her gaze from the desk in her dad's bureau, the one in which she spent hours planning evasions against the Fire Kingdom.

She smiled broadly. "We won, didn't we? Haha, I'm sure our soldiers gave a kick in the ass of the Sun army. Dad must be very proud."

Amy could feel her heart aching. She wondered if she couldn't travel back in time and prevent her king from… dying.

"Zhalia, something happened to your dad."

Zhalia rolled her eyes. "You sound a bit overly dramatic there, Amy. It feels like you're about to tell me he's dead or something."

Amarantha opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out of it. Instead, her hands and chin began trembling, as hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

"He…" The woman made a small pause, not believing her eyes "Wait. Are you telling me…?"

Amy nodded. "It was an ambush ordered by the Sun Council. They hired a team of bounty killers and they… They killed our beloved King and some soldiers who were protecting him."

Zhalia looked at Amy in a mixture of anger and disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? My dad can't be killed."

"But he was and now… The noble families want you as his successor."

"Amy" Zhalia leaned forward, supporting her hands on top of the desk, in a intimidating gesture. When she spoke, her voice was low, scary even "My dad, our King didn't die. Whoever told you that is insane."

"But-"

Zhalia abruptly kicked the desk, throwing it to the opposite end of the room. "I'M NOT MY DAD'S SUCCESSOR! HE'S ALIVE, YOU HEARD ME? ALIVE!"

Amy bit her lip, before she nodded. She thought her Princess, or better, Queen, needed some time and space to accept the truth.

And she knew she had made the right thing when she closed the door behind her, hearing almost immediately Zhalia's cries.

And even if Amarantha wanted to comfort Zhalia, she knew that her friend needed to fight that battle alone.

Guess that was one more thing to hate about the Fire Kingdom, besides Dante Vale.


	3. Chapter 2-Memory lane

_**Thank you all for all the reviews for the last chapters :) It's pretty nice to know that you guys are enjoying this.**_

_**And to the Guest who wrote a review for chapter 2:**_

_**Hey there! :)**_

_**Thank you very much for the compliments and the big review! But I have to warn you to not expect that I write faster; when it comes to writing, I'm one of the laziest writers on Earth.**_

_**Anyway, yes, I've seen Frozen. And believe it or not, sometimes while I was writing this chapter, I could see Zhalia in my mind with Elsa's dress, and she even began singing "Let it go" in the middle of a scene! (Crazy mind I have, huh?)**_

_**But I think –unfortunately- that I'll not use Elsa's dress on this story. I mean, don't get me wrong: The dress is gorgeous and would fit this story. But I've already stole various things from Disney *go have a look at my "Tangled" fanfic*and I'd feel bad if I stole the Snow Queen's dress.**_

_**(But that doesn't mean that I won't base Zhalia's dress on Elsa's one…) ;)**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2- Memory lane**_

* * *

Her mind had always been her safe place. During all her life, it was there she ran to when reality became more painful than she could handle. It had been there she took refuge when Dante left her, and it was also there Zhalia tried to gather the shattered pieces of her broken heart.

Two years, two men she lost. Two times she had to hide herself from the pitying looks of the people around her; two times she had to put on her masquerade of strong and independent woman, while deep inside her heart was bleeding to death.

The first time, it had been when Dante Vale entered her life.

"_And he was quite the challenge, wasn't he?"_ The voice of her subconscious asked, and the blue-haired woman couldn't help but smile sadly at the sudden flowing of memories crossing her mind.

* * *

_It was a snowy afternoon, typical of the northeast lands of her Kingdom, and Zhalia was in the forest on top of her mare, Persephone, chasing a certain man through the naked trees._

"_Dante… Appear, wherever you are…" She murmured in a sing-song tone, turning her head in all directions, scrutinizing the surroundings for her prey._

_Of course, Dante Vale deserved the reputation he had, so Zhalia wasn't really surprised when, after an hour of search, she didn't catch sight of him. _

_She let out a frustrated sound from the core of her throat, coming to a full stop. _

_That definitely wasn't being her best day._

_During all the other times they had played this so-called _game_, he had been the one seeking for her, while Zhalia watched from the shadows as he tried to apperceive her. And to be honest, it had been fun; she, hidden in the dark, stealth as a pro thief, trying not to burst out laughing at the confusion written all over his face as Dante walked only inches from her, without the smallest clue that she was right beside him, crouched against a rock._

_But he always found her. No matter how much time it took, he always found her._

_And that's why she loved him. Because he always found her even in the times she was surrounded by darkness -not that Zhalia would ever say it out loud, of course. In the end, she knew they were from different worlds. To be together was virtually impossible. Especially since he and Scarlett…_

_The sound of her mare neighing interrupted Zhalia's train of thought and before she could even process what was going on, the blue-haired woman felt something –or someone- colliding against her, as she caught a glimpse of an arrow cutting the air in two, just a few inches away from her nose._

_When she opened her eyes, she saw herself lying on the trail of dead grass, with a large body on top of her. _

_Time seemed to slow down when her eyes met Dante's amber gaze, as also his porcelain features, his nose and cheeks colored in red, conceding him a younger expression. And against her good sense, she let her eyes wander his face, until she found his lips, a dangerous interest for her mind._

_She often asked herself how it would feel like to kiss him. Would his lips be soft as they seemed to be? And how would they taste? _

"_Zhaal, we're being attacked." He said when another arrow was shot against them. She heard Persephone neighing again, before her hulls hit the trail, announcing her take off._

_Damn it._

_Her head already far away from the romance land, Zhalia accepted the hand Dante offered her, before they both began literally running for their lives._

"_What the heck is going on?", she asked, looking back at the origin of the arrows. Her eyes immediately fell on three men, each one riding a dark horse, their helmets and armor with the Sun surrounded by fire carved in it._

_The symbol of the Fire Kingdom._

"_I swear, it's not my fault!", he stated, when she turned her head to glare at him._

"_Then could you please explain to me why three men of your army are trying to kill me?"_

_Dante's retort was almost automatic, sarcastic even, like if it was crystal clear and she had to be dumb to not know it. "Maybe because you're the daughter of our enemy?"_

_Zhalia felt a pit in her stomach after she heard the auburn man's words._

"_Our enemy."_

_It wasn't only his dad's enemy; it was also Dante's enemy, as he had pointed out. And she had been a fool for thinking that they could surpass their differences. _

_With tears menacing to slip down her cheeks in a mix of anger and hurt, Zhalia began running faster and faster, not only wanting to get away from the soldiers, but also from Dante._

_Enemies. That's what they were after all. _

_She felt the need to laugh at herself and roll her eyes at her naïvety._

_And when the first tear finally managed to stream down her cheek, Zhalia told herself it was because of the cold gusts of wind, and not because she felt like Dante had just stabbed her in the heart with his words. _

* * *

_Zhalia watched from her corner as Dante maneuvered a dangerously hot flame in his palm, his amber eyes reflecting as he set the wet branches on fire._

"_This should be enough for the night." he stated, before he hung his head against the cold, icy wall of the cavern, closing his eyes._

_After some minutes running away from the soldiers, they finally managed to mislead the men and hid in this cave made of ice, just beside the frozen lake Zhalia spent her childhood ice skating._

_Unfortunately for the duo, the Fire soldiers were still rounding the area, and had even called for back-up._

_This troubled Zhalia immensely, since she knew she couldn't simply turn her back on Dante and go back to the palace, where Klaus would probably be waiting for her._

_And then there was Dante. And even if he had the power to tell the guards to screw themselves, that didn't mean that he could forbid them from telling the truth; that they had caught their Prince near the frontier between the two kingdoms, accompanied by the future Snow Queen. And if the war was already bad and bloody as it was, Zhalia and Dante didn't want to discover from themselves how worse it could get._

"_Hey", Dante's voice broke Zhalia from her daydreams, and she obliged herself to look at him ", aren't you cold?" He then pointed with his gaze at the bonfire he had just made a few moments ago, placed in front of him "You could come here if you want."_

_Zhalia shook her head, and when she spoke her voice sounded cold and devoid of emotion "No, thank you. I'm fine here."_

_Dante slightly nodded, his eyes scanning Zhalia's face looking for a clue of what had got over her._

* * *

_Zhalia could feel his gaze on her, and by the corner of her eye she could see him staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable._

_Her breath had been caught on her throat and her heart was beating wildly, and she wished she could stop time and run to the palace, so she could hide in her bedroom, her fortress, and never again come out of it._

_Or at least, for the next years following Dante and Scarlett's marriage._

_The thought of Dante dressed in a tuxedo, his eyes wandering the crowded church looking for a certain girl in a wedding dress made her chest pain, and she found herself fighting for air._

_And she only wished she could slap herself in the face without seeming crazy, because oh God she had been so stupid. How did she let him in? How could she? Even if deep inside she knew he would only make her suffer, why did she let him in? Why didn't Zhalia treat him like she did to the others, huh? Why did she let him see her true self, and not only scratch part of the truth?_

"_You know, since it's very likely we'll be obliged to spend the night here, you could at least make me some company, you know? We could talk a little, don't you think?"_

_Zhalia closed her eyes and clenched her fists, anger and hurt screaming at her to just get out of there and try her luck with the guards, because she could swear the pain of being shot to death with arrows would be sweet compared to the pain Dante was causing her. _

_Yeah, talk? Because she really, really wanted to hear the preparations the entire Fire nation had been doing for the last weeks, hanging their national flags all over the streets, preparing the wedding dress, choosing the cake… Yeah, right. If Dante wished to kill her slowly and painfully, she could congratulate him; she was dead inside. Hollow._

"_I'd love that, but I'm tired." She stated, locking gazes with him and for a moment, she felt the urge to run at him and cry from the core of her lungs "Don't let me go"._

_But she didn't._

"_I…" She shook her head, almost smiling at her stupidity, before she simply said "Good night, Dante."_

_He opened his mouth to speak, but Zhalia ignored him, turning his back on him and looking at the frozen lake, trying to advert her mind from the place –and the person- she was with. Instead, she focused on the memories she had of her childhood, of the first times she tried to practice ice skating and fell on her butt in the cold surface._

_The thought almost made her smile. Almost._

_Unfortunately, she was too busy crying quietly in her corner to feel happy about the times innocence ruled her, and not pain._

* * *

The brunet laughed at first. That only could be a joke; his King couldn't die. It was virtually impossible. But then Amy gave him a slap on the face, her eyes dead serious.

"Shit, Amy! That hurt!" He then made a small pause, rubbing his now red cheek, where five slender fingers were carved. "But… Are you serious? Did he really, _really_ die?"

The girl huffed in utter frustration. "Of course! Do you think I'd play around with such thing?"

The young man looked at Amarantha, astonished. His name was Adonis, and he had served the King since he could remember.

He sat on the porch, covering his mouth with a hand. "This can't be real."

Amarantha put her body against the wooden door and let herself sink slowly, until she was beside her friend. "But it is."

"How's Zhalia dealing with it?"

Amy sighed, rubbing her tired face. "Her father died and she was left with the responsibility of protecting our Kingdom. How do _you_ think she is?"

Adonis hissed. "Poor woman. She doesn't deserve this. Especially after what that Dante freakin' Vale did to her."

Amarantha punched him in the shoulder. Hard. "Shut up. I already told you can't be running around speaking about that. Zhalia made me promise I'd never talk about it to somebody else than her."

"I know, I know. But still… I feel sorry for her. She seems like she suffered enough for two lifetimes." Adonis made another small pause, before his eyes slowly widened. "Oh my Lord. Oh my good Lord! What's goin' to happen to the Kingdom? We're in the middle of a freaggin' war and our King died!"

"Shut it, Adonis! We're in the farm, somebody may here us." The young girl looked around, and sighed in relief when she saw that besides her and the servant boy, only the pigs and the horses were in the area.

After another look around, she turned her attention to her friend, speaking quietly, just for precaution "I don't know exactly what's going to happen. I just know that the Noble families want Zhalia in charge, no matter what."

The boy scoffed. "For God's sake, her dad barely died and those... _things _are already all over the poor woman. Give her a break!"

"I know. They're just scum. They only want to be safe and keep their lifestyle, even if that means that everyday our soldiers are dying one by one in the battlefield, and our Queen is suffering."

Adonis seemed a bit shocked when he noticed how painful Amy sounded. He stared for some seconds at her, before his lips formed a silent "oh".

He quickly put a hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently.

"A-Adonis? What the-?"

The young man swallowed hard, before cutting his friend's speech:

"You're not like them. Sure, you share the same blood, but you're so much different of them. And I'm not referring to your eye color. I'm talking about what you're really are" His gaze adverted to her chest covered by a blue fabric, or more specifically, to where her heart was supposed to be "You're an amazing girl, Amy. You may be a pain in the ass, but you're not cold-hearted as the rest of your family is."

Amy's thin lips curved on a small smile, before she throw her arms around her friend's neck, whispering words of gratitude against his ear.

"I have to go now, Amy. We don't wanna Mrs. Millington screaming at me because I'm talking to you instead of doing my duties, do we?" Adonis asked on a mocking tone when they finally let go each other. Of course, he was kidding. Amarantha knew that if she'd ask him, he'd stay, even if that meant that he'd have trouble with the horrible Mrs. Millington, the housekeeper.

"Hey, but if in the meantime something new happens, find me." He asked, and Amy nodded.

* * *

Some moments later, in her way back to the palace, Amy felt something cold hit her forehead. Almost automatically, she raised her head and looked at the sky, where some grey fat clouds menacingly circled the city.

With a sigh, she began walking faster, knowing that the oncoming storm wasn't the only one approaching.

* * *

_**Hey…. Again.**_

_**Just wanted to say that I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please, if you did, go ahead and leave a review :)**_

_**P.S.: if any of my dear readers is a Doctor Who fan, please help me. I began watching the 2005 series from the beginning (because I only watched some episodes from season 7 when I started watching the show) and I'm almost reaching the season two finale and oh God, from what I heard, something bad is going to happen to Rose. And I know I'm gonna cry a river. Literally. Because I ship Rose and Ten and I'd be devastated if something happen to those two. So yeah, please, tell me if it's safe to watch or if I'll have to watch it alone at night, so no one sees me crying. **_


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